Hi Account Closed,I'm also in OC and have been reseraching out of state investing (exchanging my CA properties).

You can purchase less than you sell and you can take cash out - this is what is called a partial exchange. 

Any and all advice appreciated, and if you’re in the area I would love to chat about exchanging my time for your experience so we can both profit.

He had this home for 5 years he was paying off the mortgage, now after two tenants that I have put though here, I owe around $177,000 the house is valued at $255,000-$260,000 I should make a good profit off this, but I am going to do a 1031 exchange to trade this up.

It would be best to sit down with a tax accountant to see if the 1031 exchange can be used or if section 85 can be a benefit here.

We have one long term tenant who vets prospective renters and handles local issues for us in exchange for a break on rent.    

After that they could renew in increments of 5 years in exchange for rent increases of $.50 a sq ft.

If it is a rental property, you can sell and defer taxes using a 1031 exchange however the amount of taxes deferred will be greater because it will be sale price minus your adjusted cost basis (purchase price minus depreciation claimed on taxes).

Public or investors.Any option can trigger the due on sale clause in an underlying mortgage, an equitable interest to title has been exchanged.

It was a good exchange and no hard feelings or issue.